As a technology journalist, it’s been fascinating to watch SaaS – Software as a Service, cloud computing, Internet services, whatever you want to call it – become such a big part of the business landscape. From my perch up here in Seattle, I’ve had a front-row seat as two of our local tech giants – Amazon and Microsoft – have made major investments in this tech category.

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First, a note of full disclosure: I consider Dallas my second Texas hometown. I was born and raised in San Angelo, about 240 miles to the south and west of Big D, but I’ve been making trips there ever since I can remember, either for vacations at Six Flags Over Texas and Ranger games at the old Arlington Stadium. As I got older and became more mobile, I would head to Dallas to see friends and attend concerts at Reunion Arena (like Arlington Stadium and Texas Stadium, now a demolished memory).

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The crew and I at spark360 were debating whether or not to mention the model name for the compact sweeper trucks that make up Cobalt Real Estate Services’ fleet. They’re TYMCO 210’s, which I thought sounded kind of cool and sporty, a high-tech-type label for the next generation of maintenance vehicles. I’m not saying they’re ready for the NASCAR circuit, although it’s fun to indulge a leap of the imagination that pictures one of these vehicles covered with endorsements, fighting for the pole in a Daytona 500 of maintenance vehicles – which would of course include zambonis and street washers

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I’ve always heard that hospital surroundings and atmosphere can have an impact on how quickly you heal. But I’d never actually seen it put into practice before until I visited the Reliant Healthcare inpatient rehab hospital in Richardson, Texas.

Our spark360 crew arrived to find a facility that looked like it was combining the best features of hospitals and hotels; lots of wide-open spaces, big windows, hallways that seemed to on for days (in width and length) and families gathering in those hallways – in common areas just outside a family member’s private room. The younger members of those visiting families were checking email on laptops thanks to the free WiFi.

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Jeff Thompson, the president and CEO of EDGE Tech Corp, wasn’t the only one reminiscing about the early days of his company – and the beginnings of the computer industry. Hearing his story had me stepping into the Wayback Machine too. (That’s a “Bullwinkle” reference for those of you old enough to remember Sherman, Mr. Peabody and one of the best animated series ever produced.)

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As I write this, a lot of people are crowding the aisles of their nearby Apple Stores, lining up the buy the latest must-have technology gadget brought to you by Steve Jobs and company.

The iPad is getting great reviews from mainstream and tech-based media. Those who have had a chance to take it for a test spin say it may usher in a new era of not only mobile media consumption, but user-computer interface. That last point is a fancy way of saying that in the future, we’ll all be using finger-swipes, virtual keyboards and pinch-zooms on multitouch screens as ways to interact with our computers.

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The first thing we like to focus on at spark360 – the quality behind why we chose “spark” for the title of our program – is the passion shown by the entrepreneurs profiled. What sparks the passion for wanting to create a new company out of thin air? What gives these executives the energy to make their product, provide their service, ride the economic rollercoaster that makes up the process of building a business in the U.S. in 2010?

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Learn more about Spark360 as Renay San Miguel tells you why we exist and how we can help get your message out to millions of viewers.

Video killed the radio star? Maybe. Web video and social networks killing traditional media business models? Only if you view the digitally-enhanced glass as half-empty.

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